Energy savings quantification measurement and budget control system

Abstract

A system and method for the quantification and automatic control of energy usage for equipment through active measurement, intelligent monitoring, and predictive analysis enabling the adherence to energy budgets through automatic adjustment of the operation of the equipment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for automatically controlling energy consumption of at least one equipment operating in a facility comprising:
 a computer coupled to a network and having a storage;   said storage having energy budget data for a first time period saved thereon;   said storage having operational parameter data for the facility saved thereon;   a controller associated with the at least one equipment and coupled to said computer via the network, said controller detecting the operation of the at least one equipment to generate energy use data, which is transmitted to said computer;   an environmental sensor coupled to the network and generating environmental data relating to environmental conditions outside the facility, the environmental data transmitted to said computer;   at least one facility sensor coupled to the network and generating facility data, the facility data transmitted to said computer;   software executing on said computer receiving predicted environmental data comprising a prediction of environmental conditions outside the facility for a first future time period that overlaps with the first time period;   said software comparing the energy use data, the environmental data, the facility data, the predicted environmental data, the energy budget data, and the operational parameter data to generate an operation program; and   said software executing on said computer automatically transmitting instructions to said controller to adjust the operation of the at least one equipment based on the operation program.   
     
     
         2 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 1 , wherein,
 said storage has historical environmental data relating to past environmental conditions outside the facility saved thereon;   said storage has historical energy usage data for the at least one equipment relating to past energy usage for the at least one equipment saved thereon; and   said software executing on said computer correlating the historical energy usage data and the historical environmental data to generate correlated historical energy usage data;   wherein said software executing on said computer uses the correlated historical energy usage data in generating the operation program.   
     
     
         3 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 2 , wherein the historical environmental data and the historical energy usage data are each saved in a table. 
     
     
         4 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 3 , wherein the environmental data is selected from the group consisting of: temperature, humidity, daylight hours, direct sunlight hours on the facility, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 4 , wherein the historical energy usage data and the historical environmental data include date information such that the correlated historical energy usage data correlating the energy usage to date and temperature. 
     
     
         6 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 5 , wherein the energy budget data is generated and modified periodically by the correlated historical energy usage data. 
     
     
         7 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 1 , wherein the facility data is selected from the group consisting of: temperature data inside the facility, occupancy data, occupancy density data and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 1 , wherein,
 said software executing on said computer receives updated predicted environmental data for a second future time period;   said software executing on said computer modifies the operation program based on the energy use data, the environmental data, the facility data, the updated predicted environmental data, the energy budget data, and the operational parameter data to generate a modified operation program; and   said software executing on said computer automatically transmitting instructions to said controller to adjust the operation of the at least one equipment based on the modified operation program.   
     
     
         9 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 8 , wherein the updated predicted environmental data comprises a dynamic temperature forecast that is saved in a dynamic temperature forecast table. 
     
     
         10 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 1 , wherein said operational parameter data comprises thresholds and parameters within, which said software executing on said computer automatically sends instructions to said controller to implement changes to equipment setpoints and operation. 
     
     
         11 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 1 , wherein said software executing on said computer generates a report accounting for energy usage for the at least one equipment for the first time period. 
     
     
         12 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 11 , wherein said software executing on said computer comprises a graphic user interface for displaying the report. 
     
     
         13 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 12 , wherein the graphic user interface displays information selected from the group consisting of: the energy use data, the environmental data, the facility data, the predicted environmental data, updated predicted environmental data, the energy budget data, the operational parameter data, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The system for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 1 , wherein the energy use data, the environmental data and the facility data are received by said software executing on said computer in real-time. 
     
     
         15 . A method for automatically controlling energy consumption of at least one equipment operating in a facility with a computer coupled to a network and having a storage, comprising the steps of:
 saving energy budget data for a first time period on the storage;   saving operational parameter data for the facility on the storage;   detecting the operation of the at least one equipment with a controller associated with the at least one equipment and coupled to said computer via the network to generate energy use data and transmitting the energy use data to the computer;   generating environmental data relating to environmental conditions outside the facility with an environmental sensor coupled to the network and transmitting the environmental data to the computer;   generating facility data with at least one facility sensor coupled to the network and transmitting the facility data transmitted to the computer;   receiving predicted environmental data comprising a prediction of environmental conditions outside the facility for a first future time period that overlaps with the first time period with software executing on the computer;   comparing the energy use data, the environmental data, the facility data, the predicted environmental data, the energy budget data, and the operational parameter data to generate an operation program with the software executing on the computer; and   automatically transmitting instructions to the controller to adjust the operation of the at least one equipment based on the operation program with the software executing on the computer.   
     
     
         16 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 15 , further comprising the steps of:
 saving historical environmental data relating to past environmental conditions outside the facility on the storage;   saving historical energy usage data for the at least one equipment relating to past energy usage for the at least one equipment on the storage;   correlating the historical energy usage data and the historical environmental data to generate correlated historical energy usage data with the software executing on the computer;   wherein the software executing on the computer uses the correlated historical energy usage data in generating the operation program.   
     
     
         17 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 15 , wherein the historical environmental data and the historical energy usage data are each saved in a table. 
     
     
         18 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 17 , wherein the environmental data is selected from the group consisting of:
 temperature, humidity, daylight hours, direct sunlight hours on the facility, and combinations thereof.   
     
     
         19 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 18 , wherein the historical energy usage data and the historical environmental data include date information such that the correlated historical energy usage data correlating the energy usage to date and temperature. 
     
     
         20 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 19 , wherein the energy budget data is generated and modified periodically by the correlated historical energy usage data. 
     
     
         21 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 15 , wherein the facility data is selected from the group consisting of: temperature data inside the facility, occupancy data, occupancy density data and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         22 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 15 , further comprising the steps of:
 receiving updated predicted environmental data for a second future time period with the software executing on the computer;   modifying the operation program based on the energy use data, the environmental data, the facility data, the updated predicted environmental data, the energy budget data, and the operational parameter data to generate a modified operation program with the software executing on the computer; and   automatically transmitting instructions to the controller to adjust the operation of the at least one equipment based on the modified operation program with the software executing on the computer.   
     
     
         23 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 15 , further comprising the step of:
 generating a report accounting for energy usage for the at least one equipment for the first time period with the software executing on the computer.   
     
     
         24 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 23 , wherein the software executing on the computer includes a graphic user interface for displaying the report. 
     
     
         25 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 24 , further comprising the step of:
 displaying information on the graphic user interface selected from the group consisting of: the energy use data, the environmental data, the facility data, the predicted environmental data, updated predicted environmental data, the energy budget data, the operational parameter data, and combinations thereof with the graphic user interface.   
     
     
         26 . The method for automatically controlling energy consumption of  claim 15 , further comprising the step of:
 receiving in real-time the energy use data, the environmental data and the facility data with the software executing on the computer.